Chupacabra!!!!

Well, I'm finally feeling like a human being!! It took 4 weeks, but I'm definitely going to make it. We're starting to get a little bit of a routine going, and that is helping my OCD a ton.

Tessa is turning into a fabulous "roly poly"! She's got the most awesome chipmunk cheeks. It's possible that they are there because she wants to nurse all day, everyday. I'm trying to feed her on demand, but I've started to try to push her to at least every 2 hours. She's super strong, too! She'll hold her head up forever, just lookin' around. Huge differences from my Emory baby days. Tessa will actually do "tummy time"! She was Sebastien for Halloween. I know, I know, that's a boy thing but we wanted her to go with Emory's costume. We went to Cory's school on Halloween. They do this really fun carnival, with games etc., and they let you trick-or-treat to all the faculty offices. We got way too much candy, but had a ton of fun. Everybody loved the girl's costumes, THANKS MOM!

Emory is still struggling. She's doing great with the actual baby, but just having a hard time adjusting to all the new routines etc. We're also having a very hard time disciplining her. Nothing works! She's simply out of control, when she wants to be, and an angel the next minutes! I pray for patience with her more than anything! She's such a cute little girl, though. Recently, she stared saying "It's too big hard!" when she's having a hard time with something. It cracks us up, all of the Emory-isms: Second-minutes, Push-it-out, Super-Why!, Cock-a-doodle-doo (she does this when she wants your attention, I think it's from Peter Pan) and the list goes on! She LOVES her baby Tessa and is very proud of her. We have to tell all the old ladies at the store about baby Tessa. She's a great big sister.

I, like I said before, am feeling semi-normal. We've showered and gotten dressed before 4:00 pm almost everyday this week! That's quite a feat for us! My "nip-ular" troubles seem to be a thing of the past! (Knock on wood!) Thanks to the great advice from friends and family and the wonders of the Internet, it seemed to be a latch on problem, that I fixed, and then it just took some time to heal. But all is well.

Cory is an official zombie. The poor kid is giving himself and ulcer! I think he's getting less sleep than me, and let's just say, that's not a whole lot! We didn't see him for about 48 hours straight, but the end is in sight. Tomorrow morning is the last test (HOORAY!) and he'll be off for two weeks.

We continue to have record heat in Phoenix. It's been 90+ degrees all week! I miss November sweater weather and we can't wait to come home to Utah at Christmas time. Our plans for the Holidays are as follows: Thanksgiving - We'll be down here. We decided to bless the baby on Sunday November 25th, so that made it convenient for my family to come for Thanksgiving. Christmas - Still no final plans but it looks like we'll come to Utah for the week between Christmas and New Year's. We're flying, so that'll be an adventure!

PS We've nick-named Tessa "Chupacabra"! It makes us laugh! Also, since the baby came not to much cooking has been going on, hence the Hot Pocket. I know, they're super gross, but sometimes you're so hungry and . . . oh well. This is a hilarious comedian talking about Hot Pockets http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFFTwnYXI20